Cavaliers Players Pushing for Darius Garland to Receive Major Honor

Cleveland is hoping its star point guard will take home a prestigious award.

Apr 4, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

With four regular season games remaining, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the driver's seat in the Eastern Conference. The 62-16 Cavs have been especially effective in one time period: the clutch.

Cleveland leads the NBA in win percentage in clutch games (71.4%, 25-10 record), which the NBA defines as the games with the score within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime. The Cavaliers have thrived throughout the year in late-game situations, in part because of the play of point guard Darius Garland.

In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Garland's teammates showed their support for him and explained why they believe Garland should be the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year.

"The numbers show it," Max Strus said. "If you look at any game that's been close in the fourth quarter, Darius has either won it for us or taken the game completely over all by himself."

Among players who have attempted at least 1.5 shots per clutch outing, Garland has the third-highest field goal percentage in the league. His 52.6% rate trails only Denver's Nikola Jokic (54.7%) and the Los Angeles Clippers' Norman Powell (54.1%). Garland also ranks eighth with 101 total clutch points.

"I think at one point, Darius was averaging the most points in the fourth quarter," Jarrett Allen said. "Everything goes through him in the fourth quarter. He distributes the ball and also scores it."

The NBA's Clutch Player of the Year award is relatively new, having been established for the 2022-23 season. Former Kings guard De'Aaron Fox won the inaugural award, while Golden State's Stephen Curry took home the trophy last year.

Garland's biggest supporter was center Tristan Thompson, who spent the first nine years of his career in Cleveland before bouncing around Boston, Sacramento, Indiana and Chicago. Thompson returned to the Cavaliers last season and is now primarily in a reserve veteran role.

"Darius should be the Clutch Player of the Year because the analytics support it," Thompson said. "You see in the crunch time, he can't be stopped. Whether it's making a three, making a floater, a layup... Look at his numbers, look at his plus-minus, best field goal percentage in the crunch time... All of that is the reason why he should be the Clutch Player of the Year."

The Cavaliers are certainly more focused on locking up the No. 1 seed than awards ahead of the playoffs, but a little recognition never hurts.